Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Researchers Find Early Hints Of Virus In California
The Washington Post: High Numbers Of Los Angeles Patients Complained About Coughs As Early As December, Study Says
The number of patients complaining of coughs and respiratory illnesses surged at a sprawling Los Angeles medical system from late December through February, raising questions about whether the novel coronavirus was spreading earlier than thought, according to a study of electronic medical records. The authors of the report, published Thursday in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, suggested that coronavirus infections may have caused this rise weeks before U.S. officials began warning the public about an outbreak. But the researchers cautioned that the results cannot prove that the pathogen reached California so soon, and other disease trackers expressed skepticism that the findings signaled an early arrival. (Guarino, 9/10)
Los Angeles Times: Low-Income Seniors Lose Food Deliveries As Coronavirus Peaks
Tens of thousands of low-income California seniors stopped receiving home deliveries of free food just as COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state were peaking, thanks to a century-old federal policy to include surplus cheese in government aid packages. As the coronavirus began to spread in March and Gov. Gavin Newsom called on millions of seniors to self-isolate, these needy Californians initially were able to have a box of dried food delivered to their homes each month at no cost because federal regulators granted a state request to temporarily waive certain rules governing the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. The three-month exemption allowed food banks to remove cheese — the only perishable item in the boxes — and then use private companies or volunteers to deliver the monthly aid to clients’ homes. ... But in July, the federal waiver ended and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials refused to extend it, meaning cheese must again be included and, more problematically, refrigerated in transit.. (Wire, 9/10)
In news from the Midwest and East —
AP: Nebraska To End Nearly All Social Distancing Restrictions
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts will end nearly all of his state’s social-distancing restrictions on Monday even as the number of new coronavirus cases has trended upward over the last few months. The new rules will still limit the size of large indoor gatherings, such as concerts, meeting halls and theaters, but will drop all other state-imposed mandates in favor of voluntary guidelines, as other conservative states have done.“We are loosening the restrictions further on Sept. 14,” Ricketts said at a news conference. (Schulte, 9/10)
Dallas Morning News: $5, 15-Minute Rapid COVID-19 Tests Are Coming To Texas
Imagine arriving at your office. You walk through the front door, stop at the front desk, and then take a COVID-19 test. Within minutes you are cleared to begin your work day. Cheap, rapid coronavirus testing could change how businesses, schools and other places move forward during the pandemic, and Texas is hoping to be at the forefront. (Jimenez, 9/10)
The Washington Post: Maryland Buys 250,000 Rapid-Detection Coronavirus Tests For Mass Screenings
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday that the state has ordered 250,000 rapid coronavirus tests that can deliver results in 15 minutes and will be deployed for mass screenings at nursing homes across the state. The rapid antigen tests, less sensitive than lab-based diagnostic tests that take hours, are newly approved by federal regulators for broad screenings and can be run on a handheld device. (Cox, Sullivan, Hedgpeth and Schneider, 9/10)
Detroit Free Press: New Order To Allow Outdoor Visits At Nursing Homes In Michigan
Visitation will be expanded at nursing homes to allow outdoor visits starting next week, the state health department said in a news release. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon signed the order on Thursday affecting residents in several types of long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, independent living facilities and assisted living facilities. Visitors had been severely restricted, if not barred altogether, at many such facilities during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Anderson, 9/10)
ABC News: COVID-19 Outbreak At Virginia Jail Infects 124 Inmates, 20 Staffers: Officials
A COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly spread through a Virginia jail, infecting at least 120 inmates and 20 staff members despite emergency protocols officials say have been in place since March to prevent the contagion from infiltrating the facility. The Pamunkey Regional Jail in Hanover, Virginia, is the latest U.S. correctional institution to report an outbreak of coronavirus which has plagued thousands of jail and prison inmates across the country since the global pandemic started earlier this year. (Hutchinson, 9/10)
State House News Service: State Hears Ideas To Strengthen Workplace COVID-19 Safety
Groups representing workers on Wednesday asked [Massachusetts] labor officials to strengthen COVID-19 protections for employees of various types of businesses. The Department of Labor Standards held a hearing — the first of two — on a set of emergency regulations setting COVID-19 safety standards. Department director Michael Flanagan said the standards mirror the workplace safety measures put into place by Gov. Charlie Baker as part of the protocols required for brick-and-mortar operations to reopen. (Lannan, 9/10)
Bangor Daily News: In York County Virus Hotspot, Some Say It’s Time To ‘Stop Fighting Science'
A recent COVID-19 outbreak that has infected at least 10 people affiliated with an evangelical church whose pastor officiated at an August wedding that spurred Maine’s largest virus outbreak has been frustrating for Matthew Gardner. The 36-year-old Sanford man is an air quality contractor and holds multiple certificates from the state Department of Environmental Protection. Understanding how small particles travel through the air and potentially make people sick is his specialty. (Schroeder and Bennett, 9/10)
Fox News: 'Bat Tick' Found In New Jersey For First Time, Researchers Say
A tick species associated with bats was recorded in New Jersey for the first time, researchers say, and humans, pets and livestock could be at risk of infection. Findings from the Rutgers University-led study were published on Wednesday in the Journal of Medical Entomology. (Rivas, 9/10)
Fox News: Brain-Eating Amoeba Claims Life Of Florida Boy, 13
A brain-eating amoeba claimed the life of a 13-year-old boy in Florida, according to multiple reports. The parents of Tanner Lake Wall told Florida news outlet News4Jax that their son contracted the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, when he was swimming at a campground in North Florida near Tallahassee just a few days before his death. “He swam in a lake there Friday and Saturday with 50-plus kids and our daughters were there, my husband was there, no one else got it, and he’s the only one," Alicia Whitehill, Tanner’s mother, said in an interview with the TV news outlet. (McGorry, 9/10)
And in news from the West —
Fox News: Idaho Reports First Human West Nile Cases Of The Year
Idaho health officials reported two human West Nile cases Wednesday, marking the first of the season.The infections were found among two residents in Owyhee County, which runs along the state’s southwest border. Both residents were over 50 years old. One had a diagnosis for West Nile fever and the other case was discovered through blood donor screening, per a news release from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. (Rivas, 9/10)
